Thread by @BelindaJones68

I heard on the news tonight that it was predicted that shoppers 'splurged' $2.5 billion in the 2018 Boxing Day sales.

This amount of $$ is bandied about as if it is some kind of yardstick on the health of the economy.

So, I thought I'd compare past sales & population.
#auspol

We're still spending the same as predicted in 2012 but our population has increased by about 4 million since then.

If Boxing Day sales are a a yardstick then it's a telling indicator of the lack of confidence & spending ability of consumers after 5+ years of LNP govt.
#auspol

Here are 'predictions' from past years that show sales predictions today are the same as 2012 even though the population has increased somewhat - starting at 2017.

2017 - Boxing Day sales amount prediction in $$$
$2.4 billion
#auspol
news.com.au/finance/busine…

2016 - Boxing Day sales amount prediction in $$$
$2.3 billion
#auspol
retail.org.au/mediacentre/au…

2015 - Boxing Day sales amount prediction in $$$
$2.5 billion
news.com.au/finance/busine…

2014 - Boxing Day sales amount prediction in $$$
$2.1 billion
#auspol
dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/boxin…

2013 - Boxing Day sales amount prediction in $$$
$1.9 billion
#auspol
abc.net.au/news/2013-12-2…

2012 - Boxing Day sales amount prediction in $$$
$2.5 billion
abc.net.au/news/2012-12-2…

2011 - Boxing Day sales amount prediction in $$$
$2 billion
#auspol
couriermail.com.au/news/no-keys-n…

Meanwhile, our population has increased during that time but it had no affect on the Boxing Day sales figures at all from 2012 to 2018, which would indicate a backward trend for retailers.

2016 - Population of Australia
23,401,892
#auspol
quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_service…

2011 - Population of Australia
21,507,717
#auspol
quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_service…

2006 - Population of Australia
19,855,288
#auspol
quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_service…

2001 - Population of Australia
18,769,249
#auspol
quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_service…

So, the 2018 Boxing Day sales 'splurge' of apparently $2.5 billion is not a particularly good outcome by comparison.

$2.5 billion divided by 25 million (approx. population of Australia 2018) = $100

I wouldn't exactly call that a 'splurge'
#auspol

Perhaps @ScottMorrisonMP & @JoshFrydenberg should take a look at this before they go on about 'a strong economy', there is certainly no indication in these figures that the economy is getting stronger, well, certainly not in the retail sector, traditionally a bellwether.
#auspol